In response to the disease outbreak, several groups are monitoring and trying new treatments and interventions to stop or slow the spread of stony coral tissue loss disease.

Monitoring in the Caribbean

SUBMIT A REPORT

To help track and better understand SCTLD in the Caribbean, we ask for your help in reporting observations by filling out the online survey form, which includes information on coral species affected, location, and photos. We are specifically interested in SCTLD reports or other unusually high reports of recent coral death.

If you see any instances of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease or suspected disease, please submit your findings and photos via one of the 3 survey forms below. There are 3 types of survey forms to make it easy to submit your data BUT you only need to fill out ONE of the forms per reef site. You can enter data by Scientific Coral Name, by Common Coral Group Name or by Roving Diver Survey.

LEARN MORE

Given the potential for widespread areas to be affected, a multi-partner effort of managers, biologists and citizen scientists is suggested. To learn more about SCTLD, scientists and managers can train recreational snorkelers and divers to help properly identify SCTLD from other coral diseases and teach survey and investigation techniques.

FLORIDA INTERVENTION ACTIVITIES

In an effort to reduce the spread of disease and loss of live coral tissue, several laboratory and field trials have been done including topical applications of chlorine and amoxicillin, topical chlorinated epoxy, amputation of affected regions of diseased corals, and relocation of healthy regions of diseased corals. The results from efforts in Florida are summarized below and will be updated regularly. In Mexico, additional field intervention trials are ongoing and information will be posted when available.

– Amoxicillin treatments are much more effective than chlorinated treatments. This effectiveness is seen in summary analyses, but also when treatments among species (CNAT, OFAV, DLAB) are compared. But even then there was still up to 20% failure at 19 weeks.

– Even the most effective treatments are acting only at the lesion level. New lesions continue to erupt and overtake treatments, leading to ongoing tissue loss as well as necessary frequent re-visitation to apply additional treatments. All corals needed more than one treatment.

– Schedules for re-treatment and monitoring vary based on species and perhaps disease status. Epidemic zones and highly susceptible species require more frequent monitoring to determine effectiveness, and more frequent re-treatments to catch new lesions or repair broken treatment lines.

Bottom line: focus resources on large colonies of Orbicella spp. as they’re the most important reef-builders, best known responders to amoxicillin and also likely to be the largest local reservoirs of the pathogen.

– Address whether species like OFAV that respond well to treatment would also respond well in epidemic or invasion zones would prioritize these corals before they experience significant tissue loss, and while lesions are still small might better respond to treatments.

– Further comparisons of amoxicillin treatments with and without trenching or the application of clay to cover the treatments would elucidate the effectiveness of these additional measures.

– A high priority research topic should be to address intervention at the colony or reef level, and management questions relating to this should be considered well in advance. Potential options may include antibiotic dosing by bagging or medicated feed, and could include probiotic application or phage therapy.

– Reef-scale intervention may also be considered on small patch reefs by treating all lesions within an isolated region to determine whether the elimination of lesions in such an environment could have reef-scale consequences.

“The purpose of this project is to perform disease intervention on previously-identified, large corals (including ESA-threatened-species) over two meters in diameter in SE FL identified with active disease. This includes restoring coral health by smothering diseased tissue, creating a “fire break” to arrest disease progression and covering the newly exposed skeleton with chlorinated epoxy. These activities are essential to save the largest, oldest, and most resilient corals in SE FL affected by disease. ”